Parenting During a Pandemic to Maximize Emotional Wellness

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested all of us in ways that we could never have imagined just a few months ago. We have all been pulled away from our regular routines and practices, and forced to learn, work, and live very differently. Saint David's School is in its fifth week of distance learning. Throughout this strange time, our boys have continued to learn, grow, and collaborate with each other. Supported by their teachers, the administration and, most importantly, their families, they are doing well.

While it may seem like we've been in this "new normal" forever, it's only been a matter of weeks. As time goes on, the emotional toll can increase and negatively impact us. In this environment, it is important to be sensitive to and aware of our boys' emotional well-being, as well as our own.

Toward this end, Saint David's recently held a virtual town hall in which our Consulting Psychologist, Dr. Michael Schwartzman, shared approaches shown to effectively maximize emotional wellness during trying times. Some of the thoughts he shared with parents follow:

Be sure to take care of yourself; it is important to manage your own anxieties in order to effectively help children manage theirs.
Identify and minimize your negative feelings.
Maintain routines like meals, study time, exercise. They ground us.
Be honest with yourself. Communicate often, increase talk time and together time.
Have realistic expectations. Prioritize effort over achievement. Children are feeling a lot of loss right now.
Minimize children's exposure to disturbing content in the media.
Maintain rituals.
Be sympathetic; reassuring but realistic. Assure your children that you are doing everything to keep them and your family safe.

Most important, and most comforting, was the takeaway that as parents we are the experts in our children's lives. We have provided continuity, care, and assurance to our children through other disruptive times. We’ve had to help them grow and learn in a range of situations. As parents and as teachers, we need to trust our instincts. And, importantly, we must ask for help if we need it.

We are hosting follow-up sessions by division with Dr. Schwartzman this week to address specific concerns of parents in our Lower and Upper Schools, as well as a session for our faculty and staff. In addition, this Friday our community will hold a prayer service to reflect upon these times and to look to our school's spiritual pillar. With faith, fortitude, and support, we will all get through this together.

Resilience in the Teaching of Languages

Above: The Nerf microphone ball enables boys learning remotely to hear their classmates well. The pandemic has challenged educators to reinvent and reimagine units of study to keep learning engaging, regardless of how it is delivered. The following article, written for Saint David’s Magazine by our Modern Languages Chair Dr. Victoria Gilbert and Lower School Spanish teacher Flor Berman, addresses how this was done in the Spanish immersion language program at Saint David's. Ms. Berman and Dr. Gilbert, recipient of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers' Ruth E. Wasley Distinguished Teacher Award, presented on the topic at NYSAIS’s Flexible Classroom Conference last summer. How Spanish Classes Have Bounced Back Resiliency implies an ability to bounce back, but as teachers working with the youngest learners in the school, we would reframe resiliency as the opportunity to reimagine. Whether boys are learning through a face-to-face experience or through the med

The Role of Faith in Social-Emotional Learning and Psychological Well-Being

The following article by our School Psychologist, Dr. Michael Schwartzman, appears in the current issue of Saint David's Magazine : During one of my first observations in a Saint David’s classroom 15 years ago, I witnessed two first grade boys in a verbal altercation. Although it was contained just between the two boys, their observant teacher had them talk it through and then shake hands on being in a better place for having done so. I was very impressed, and still am, with this approach that the school takes many times throughout the day. It helps establish a firm idea of how to behave, especially in social situations where emotions can be stirred and run high. Through this experience repeated consistently day in and day out, better, more productive ways of engaging become increasingly integrated by the boys as they develop socially and emotionally in interaction with each other. As the School Psychologist, I spend a lot of time thinking about the touch points for student and t

Storytelling Demonstrates Understanding

Their time had arrived. As the lights dimmed in our Otto-Bernstein Theatre, the astrophysicists, a mix of jitters and excitement, awaited their opportunity to share insights and stories about the workings of the universe. Which planets might support life? Is there water on Mars? What are Dwarf Planets? "Let's take a look at our closest neighbor, Venus," invited one presenter, before revealing that the planet - while ideal in proximity - has surface temperatures of 900 degrees F: "Imagine - standing on the surface would be like being burned alive!" Later that same day, in our Graham lunchroom, early 20th century immigrants of all ages from Italy, China, Ireland, Russia, among other countries, waited, with hope and determination, their turn to be interviewed for admittance to America. It wasn't going to be easy. They would be asked pointed, potentially life-altering questions by various processors. "What's that cough? It doesn't sound good,&qu

David O'Halloran, Headmaster - Saint David's School, New York City

Search This Blog